The project, Working Tri21, is funded by the European Commission in the framework of the Erasmus Plus Programme – Action KA2 – Cooperation and Innovation for Good Practices. It commenced on 1st September 2014 and concludes on 31st August 2016.

The focus of the project is the social inclusion of people with disabilities, through job inclusion.

Why?Traditionally, people with certain disabilities have had problems in obtaining and maintaining employment. In fact, many managers and other workers admit that they lack knowledge on how to act or what procedure to follow when dealing with the disabled. This includes making appropriate adjustments for a safe workplace or adapting a job or providing specific training to cater for the particular disability.

There is often an absence of knowledge of the capabilities, diverse needs (group and individual), and potential skills sets associated with different types of disability. Disabled people present a lot of possibilities with the right development. Equally, finding a job is crucial to allow them to integrate into the labour market, to participate in society and to remove some barriers.

Job opportunities can therefore be lost to businesses and disabled people will lose out on gaining some independence at least and the ability to participate more in social life.

Lack of action can also lead to breaches of employment and equality rights as well as adding to the concerns of the disabled person and his family. Businesses are also losing a significant potential and a large number of potential recruits. In Europe more than 50 million people have some form of disability.

Overview of the project

Focuses on researching and developing support for individuals with disabilities, in particular those with Down syndrome (Trisomy 21) to enable their employment

Included in the work will be the identification of skills, abilities and knowledge with regard to potential job roles

Development of a training package(s) for individuals with special needs in the furniture industry

Pilot tests will be undertaken in Spain, and designed for use in all (or most EU countries).

Down Syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is the single most common cause of a learning disability, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 600 – 1000 births. Consequently, the pilot test of this project will put its efforts into this collective (although it will be applied in other different collectives) and for that reason, the project has been named, “Working Tri21”.